System and method for interfacing with a management system

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods that interface with a management system are provided. In one embodiment, a system and a method may provide a command protocol and format for communication between a network interface card (NIC) and a management device such as, for example, an intelligent management device (IMD). An interface may be adapted to allow the management device to merge its traffic with that of the NIC to provide a fully integrated management solution. The fully integrated management solution may be implemented, for example, without additional network connections.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application makes reference to, claims priority to and claimsbenefit from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/453,642,entitled “Intelligent Management Device Interface” and filed on Mar. 11,2003.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The above-referenced United States patent application is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[Not Applicable]

MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

[Not Applicable]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a system 10 connected to a network20 via switches 30 a, 30 b. The system 10 includes a network interfacecard (NIC) 40 and an intelligent management device (IMD) 50. The NIC 40is connected to the switch 30 a and to a host (not shown) of the system10. The IMD is connected to the switch 30 b and to the host of thesystem 10. The NIC includes a NIC media access control (MAC) 60 and aNIC processor 70. The network 20 is connected to the switch 30 a which,in turn, is connected to the NIC MAC 60. The NIC MAC 60 is connected tothe NIC processor 70 which, in turn, is connected to the host of thesystem 10. The IMD 50 includes a MAC 80 and management processor 90. Thenetwork 20 is also connected to the switch 30 b which, in turn, isconnected to the MAC 80. The MAC 80 is connected to the managementprocessor 90 which, in turn, is connected to the host of the system 10.

The IMD 50 provides, for example, monitoring, management capabilitiesand remote functionality. For example, the IMD 50 can provide monitoringand management capabilities for the system 10 and can provide remotefunctionality to or from a device (e.g., a remote device) connected tothe network 20.

The IMD 50 can have one or more of the following disadvantages. Forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the system 10 includes an additionaldedicated connection to the network 20. Besides the additional cost(e.g., the additional switch 30 b) of implementing another system port,the IMD 50 is susceptible to a failure, for example, of the switch 30 b.Thus, if switch 30 b were to fail, then the IMD 50 would no longer beaccessible via the network 20. Furthermore, because the IMD 50 isconnected to the network 20, the IMD 50 may be needlessly processingsome packets carried on the network 20. On high-speed networks, inparticular, the resources of the IMD 50 can be substantially consumed bysuch unnecessary processing, thereby reducing some resources of the IMD50 that could have been allocated for other tasks. For example, somepackets (e.g., packets that can be forwarded as received) may beprocessed by the IMD 50, even though these packets need not be processedby the IMD 50.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artthrough comparison of such systems with one or more aspects of thepresent invention as set forth in the remainder of the presentapplication with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention may be found in, for example, systemsand methods that interface with a management system such as, forexample, an intelligent management device. In one embodiment accordingto some aspects of the present invention, a communications system mayinclude, for example, a network interface card (NIC) and a managementdevice. The management device may be coupled to the NIC. The NIC may beadapted, for example, to merge communications traffic of the managementdevice with the NIC.

In another embodiment according to some aspects of the presentinvention, a communications system may include, for example, a firstNIC, a second NIC and a manager. The first NIC and the second NIC may becoupled to a network. The manager may be coupled to the first NIC andthe second NIC. The manager may initially be in two-way communicationswith the network via the first NIC. However, if the first NIC fails,then the manager may switch from the first NIC to the second NIC and bein two-way communications with the network via the second NIC.

In yet another embodiment according to some aspects of the presentinvention, a method of communications may include, for example, one ormore of the following: providing access to and from a network for amanagement device via a NIC; configuring one or more filters of the NICvia one or more commands generated by an management device; filteringincoming packets via the one or more filters; and forwarding thefiltered packets based upon one or more matches between informationcarried by the filtered packets and one or more filtering parameters.

In yet another embodiment according to some aspects of the presentinvention, a method of communications between a NIC and a managementdevice may include, for example, one or more of the following:generating a command in the management device, the command comprising aparticular sequence number; storing the command in the managementdevice; sending the command to the NIC; executing the command in theNIC; and generating a response to the command, the response comprisingthe particular sequence number. In some embodiments according to thepresent invention, the command may also include, for example, anidentifier-type field and a command structure. The response may alsoinclude, for example, an identifier-type field and a response structure.

In yet still another embodiment according to some aspects of the presentinvention, a method of remote management over a network may include, forexample, one or more of the following: accessing the network via aplurality of NICs of a local server system; communicating between alocal manager of the local server system and a remote manager over thenetwork through a NIC selected by the local manager, the selected NICbeing one of the plurality of NICs; managing the local server system viathe local manager; and responding locally to management commands sentover the network from the remote manager.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention may beappreciated from a review of the following detailed description of thepresent invention, along with the accompanying figures in which likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a system connected to a network viaswitches.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system coupled to a network accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a system coupled to a network accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forreceiving and forwarding packets according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling command packets according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling response packets according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention may be found, for example, in systemsand methods that interface with a management system such as, forexample, a management system including an intelligent management device(IMD). In some embodiments according to the present invention, a commandprotocol and format for communication between an interface card (e.g., anetwork interface card (NIC), a controller, an adapter, etc.) and amanagement system may be provided.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, an interfacethat may allow a management system to merge its traffic with that NIC(e.g., a standard NIC, a network interface controller, etc.) to providea fully integrated management solution may be provided. The fullyintegrated management solution may be implemented, for example, withoutadding further network connections.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, a separateEthernet connection port on a NIC may be provided. The separate Ethernetconnection port may be, for example, a universal management port (UMP).Via this interface, a management system may see packets that it wouldsee if it were directly connected to the network as well as many othertypes of packets (e.g., commands, responses, etc.)

In some embodiments according to the present invention, a system thatpasses command packets over an Ethernet interface between a managementsystem and an UMP may be provided.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a system 100 including an IMD 110according to the present invention. The system 100 may be, for example,a server system, a server blade, a desktop system, a computer system, anetwork system, a set top box, etc.) The system 100 may include, forexample, the IMD 110 and a NIC 120. The system 100 may be coupled to anetwork 130 via the NIC 120. The IMD 110 may include, for example, amanagement processor 140 and a media access control (MAC) 150 (e.g., a10/100 MAC). The NIC 120 may include, for example, a NIC processor 160,a set of filters 170, a MAC 180 (e.g., a 10/100 MAC or UMP) and a mainNIC MAC 190. The management processor 140 may be coupled to the MAC 150which, in turn, may be coupled to the MAC 180. The MAC 180 may becoupled to the NIC processor 160 which, in turn, may be coupled to themain NIC MAC 190. The NIC processor 160 may also be coupled to the setof filters 170 which, in turn, may be coupled to the NIC MAC 190. Themain NIC MAC 190 may be coupled to the network 130 via a switch 200.

The system 100 may also include, for example, system sensors 210, systemcontrols 220, a system interconnect 230, a central processing unit (CPU)240, another CPU 250, a system storage device 260 (e.g., a systemmemory) and peripheral devices 270 (e.g., disk devices, video devices,etc.) The system sensors 210 and the system controls 220 may be coupledto the IMD 110 and, in particular, may be coupled to the managementprocessor 140. The NIC 120, the IMD 110, the CPUs 240, 250, the systemstorage device 260 and the peripheral devices 270 may each be coupled tothe system interconnect 230. In particular, the NIC processor 160 andthe management processor 140 may be coupled to the system interconnect230 via a first host connection 280 and a second host connection 290.The host connections 280, 290 may be, for example, peripheral componentinterconnects (PCIs).

Other devices may be coupled to the network 130. For example, amanagement console 300 may be coupled to the network 130 via a switch310. Other systems 320 may be coupled to the network via respectiveswitches 330. Although illustrated as a single switch 330, eachrespective system 320 may include its own respective switch or switches330. Some of the other systems 320 may be identical to the system 100illustrated in FIG. 2 and some of the other systems 320 may be identicalto the system 100 illustrated in FIG. 3. However, the other systems 320need not be so limited in scope. In some embodiments, some of the othersystems 320 and the system 100 may be remotely controlled (e.g.,remotely monitored, remotely activated, remotely managed, remotelyaccessed, etc.) by the management console 300.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention in which the system10 is coupled to the network 130 via a plurality of NICs 120 (i.e., NIC120(1), NIC 120(2), . . . , NIC 120(n), where n is an integer value).Each NIC 120 may include, for example, a respective NIC processor 160, aset of filters 170, a first MAC 180 and a second MAC 190. Each NIC 120may be coupled to the network 130 via a respective switch 200. Thevarious components may be coupled together as described above withrespect to the NIC 120 of FIG. 2. In addition, each NIC 120 may becoupled to the IMD 110. In one embodiment, the second MACs 190 of therespective NICs 120 each may be coupled to the MAC 150 of the IMD 110.

In operation and with reference to FIG. 2, the management console 300may be in two-way communications with the system 100 and some of theother systems 320 coupled to the network 130. The management console 300may provide, for example, management services (e.g., remote managementservices) for the system 100 and some of the other systems 320. Thus,the management console 300 may be able to pull up graphical userinterfaces (e.g., windows) on its display for each of the systems thatthe management console 300 manages. In some embodiments, the activitiesperformed via the management console 300 may appear seemless even thoughthe systems being managed may be far way.

The IMD 110 may be in two-way communications with the management console300 (e.g., a remote management console) via network 130. The managementconsole 300 may be in two-way communications with not only the IMD 110of the system 100, but also some of the other systems 320 coupled to thenetwork 130. In some embodiments according to the present invention, theIMD 110 may be in two-way communications with the management console 300only through the NIC 120. In various embodiments according to thepresent invention, the IMD 110 may not have its own direct connection tothe network 130, but instead may use the NIC 120 to access the network.The IMD 110 may provide management services for the system 100. Forexample, the IMD 110 may monitor the system sensors 142 or adjust thesystem controls 144. Thus, for example, the IMD 110 may monitor powersupply parameters, voltage parameters, current parameters, temperatureparameters, status parameters, failure parameters of various componentsand circuits. The system sensors 142 may also provide alerts to the IMD110 such as, for example, that the cover of the system 100 has not beenreplaced, that components have been removed or failed, or that thetemperature in the system 100 has exceeded particular thresholds. TheIMD 110 may also adjust, activate or set system controls 144 in responseto monitored parameters or in response to particular commands orrequests. For example, the IMD 110 may reset power settings orparameters settings, power up the system 100 or a particular componentof the system 100, or power down the system or a particular component ofthe system 100.

In addition to responding to current conditions, the IMD 110 may alsorespond to requests received from the host of the system 100 or from thenetwork 130. In some embodiments according to the present invention, theIMD 110 may receive requests or commands from the management console300. In various embodiments according to the present invention, themanagement console 300 may provide, for example, a user input device(e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, etc.) and a user output device (e.g., adisplay, a graphical user interface, a video output, a graphical output,an audio output, etc.) By opening up a window in a display, a userlocated at the management console 300 may monitor information that theIMD 110 may be receiving from the system sensors 210 or the systemcontrols 220 or other components of the system 100. The user may thensend commands or requests to the IMD 110 to which the IMD 110 mayrespond. For example, the management console 300 may send a request forinformation to the IMD 110. The request may be sent via the network 130to the NIC 120. The request may be routed through the filters 170 whichmay determine whether or not the request is destined for the IMD 110. Ifthe request had not been destined for the IMD 110, then, for example, itmay have been forwarded to the NIC processor 160 or to the host of thesystem 100 or elsewhere for further processing. If the request isdestined for the IMD 110, then the NIC 120 may route the request to theIMD 110. Thus, in some embodiments according to the present invention,the IMD 110 may only receive requests or commands or data packets thatare destined for the IMD 110.

The IMD 110 may then analyze the request and may perform the request.For example, the request may include commands for powering down anoverheated component. The IMD 110 may thus adjust one or more of thesystem controls 144 of the system 100. The IMD 110 may then send aresponse to the management console 300 through the NIC 120 and thenetwork 130. The response may include, for example, graphicalinformation for display on a monitor that the user is viewing. Thus,user seemlessly manages the IMD 110 as if the user were located at thesystem 100. In some embodiments, the management console 300 may act as adummy terminal in which keyboard strokes or other input commands (e.g.,mouse interface information) are relayed to the IMD 110 which, in turn,then may send graphical information to the management console 300 whichmay be displayed on the monitor as alphanumeric symbols (or, forexample, cursor movements) corresponding to the keystrokes (or, forexample, mouse movements).

Referring to FIG. 3, the IMD 110 may be coupled to a plurality of NICs120. In some embodiments according to the present invention, only one ofthe plurality of NICs 120 provides access to and from the network 130for the IMD 110. The IMD 110 may select which of the NICs 120 to use asa sole connection to and from the network 130. In some embodimentsaccording to the present invention, the IMD 110 may have the ability toswitch between using one NIC or another NIC as the sole connection toand from the network 130, for example, at different times. This abilitymay enhance throughput as well as promote fault tolerance. For example,if the selected NIC is being overused by other resources of the system100 or the network 130, then the IMD 110 may select another NIC (e.g., aNIC that is not being overused by other resources of the system 100 orthe network 130). In another example, if the selected NIC has failed orhas been removed from the system 100, then the IMD may select anotherNIC to provide a connection (e.g., a sole connection) to and from thenetwork 130. Furthermore, if the management console 300 determines thatthe selected NIC has failed or has been removed from the system 100, themanagement console 300 may wait and try again or the management console300 may broadcast the information to the other NICs of the system 100.The IMD 110 may then be notified via the broadcasted informationreceived from one or more of the other NICs of the system and switch toanother NIC. The IMD 110 may then use the newly selected NIC to informthe management console 300 of the switch in NIC selection.

In some embodiments according to the present invention, the system 100may allow, for example, the IMD 110 to merge its traffic with that ofthe NIC 120. The system 100 may provide, for example, a fully integratedmanagement solution that does not necessitate additional networkconnections. The NIC 120 may transmit, for example, non-command packetsvia the main NIC MAC 190. The NIC 120 may receive, for example, packetsvia the main NIC MAC 190 and send the received packets through the setof filters 170. The set of filters 170 may allow received packets to bepassed to the IMD 110 if, for example, the received packets meet (e.g.,match) at least some of the filter requirements (e.g., programmed filterparameters). The NIC 120 may receive packets from the IMD 110 that meeta particular encapsulation format and may process the packets locally.The NIC 120 may receive other types of packets from the IMD 110 that maybe transmitted exactly as they were received from the IMD 110 including,for example, virtual local area network (VLAN) tag information.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forreceiving and forwarding packets according to the present invention. Instep 340, the system 100 may receive packets from the network 130 viathe main NIC MAC 190. In query 350, whether the set of filters 170 areoperable may be based upon whether the set of filters 170 have beenconfigured. The set of filters 170 may be configured, for example, viacommands generated by the NIC processor 160 of the NIC 120 or themanagement processor 140 of the IMD 110. If the set of filters 170 havebeen configured, then, in query 360, it is determined whether theinformation carried by the packet satisfies (e.g., matches) one or moreof the configured filter parameters. If the information carried by thepacket does satisfy one or more of the configured filter parameters,then, in step 390, the packet may be processed by the NIC processor 160and the management processor 140 and forwarded to a destinationaccording to the matched filter parameters. In one embodiment, withregard to layer 2 (L2) address values, the NIC 120 may forward data thatmay meet, for example, any of the selected perfect match filters, forexample, for the L2 address. In another embodiment, the NIC 120 maylimit forwarded traffic up to a particular number of VLAN networks. Inyet another embodiment, the NIC 120 may filter L2 multicast or broadcasttraffic and forward such traffic accordingly. In one embodiment, abroadcast packet that is determined to be an address resolution protocol(ARP) packet or other specific types of broadcast packets may beforwarded accordingly.

If the set of filters are not configured (query 350) or if theinformation carried by the packet does not satisfy any of the configuredfilter parameters (query 360), then, in step 370, the packet may notreach the IMD 110. In step 380, the packet may be forwarded as receivedby the main NIC MAC 190 to the rest of the system 100. In oneembodiment, if the packets are not filtered, the receive (RX) packetsincluding, for example, VLAN tag information may be forwarded asreceived via the main NIC MAC port 190.

In some embodiments, the present invention may provide command packetsand/or response packets transmitted and/or received by the NIC 120having a format as set forth below. For example, the commands may befrom the IMD 110 to the NIC 120 and the responses may be from the NIC120 to the IMD 110.

Byte 31 23 15 7  0 XXXX XXXX DA DA  4 DA DA DA DA  8 SA SA SA SA 12 SASA BRCM Num. 16 0x5706 Cmd. Seq. Num. 20 Cmd. Type Data Length 24 Data0Data1 Data2 Data3 28 Data4 Data5 Data6 Data7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . DataN Optional Padding to 32 bits . . . 2s Complement ChecksumCompensation . . . Optional Zero Pad to 64 Byte Legal Ethernet Frame

In some embodiments, the present invention may provide for fields withdefinitions are set forth below.

-   XXXX Padding for the purposes of this table to make protocol values    align on the 32-bit rows may not be a part of any packet.-   DA Ethernet Destination Address. Value is configurable, but    typically is equal to the address the receiver represents on the    main interface.-   SA Ethernet Source Address. Value is configurable, but typically is    equal to the address the sender represents on the main interface.-   BRCM Number    -   Well-known IEEE packet type number.-   0x5706 Packet type number used to define a packet sub-type for the    BRCM number.-   Cmd Type Command Type. When bit 15 of the type is set, it indicates    a response packet sent from the NIC to the IMD.-   Data Length    -   This value is the length in bytes of the data payload of the        command packet. This is the number of “Data” bytes in the        packet. This count may not include this value or any bytes        before this value. This count may not include any Padding or        Checksum bytes. The checksum may sum bytes not in this count if        this count is not a multiple of four.-   Data . . . Command payload.-   Optional Padding to 32-bits    -   If the Data portion of the command is not a multiple of four in        length (i.e., Bottom two bits of Data Length field are not zero)        then from one to three bytes of zero value padding may be added        so that the 2s complement checksum may be calculated over full        32-bit values.-   2s Complement Checksum Compensation    -   When this value is added to the 2's complement sum of all the        32-bit words in the “Data” and “Optional Padding” areas, the        resulting value may be 0xffffffff. The checksum checking may        optionally be disabled at each receiver. The sender may then        take advantage of this by setting this value to 0xffffffff.-   Optional Zero Pad to 64 Byte Legal Ethernet Frame    -   For frames to be compliant with IEEE 820.3, all frames are        padded up to a total of 64 bytes. This is typically done        automatically by most Ethernet MAC devices.

In some embodiments, the present invention may provide that commandframes may not use additional L2 encapsulation techniques such as, forexample, VLAN, SNAP, etc.

In some embodiments, the present invention may employ a transportmechanism by which reliable reception of control frames may be trackedvia sequence numbers. Each command packet may be associated with arespective response packet by each carrying a common sequence number ina particular sequence number space. Accordingly, the same sequencenumber space may be used for command/response packets in eitherdirection between the NIC 120 and the IMD 110.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling command packets according to the present invention, forexample, as executed by the IMD 110. In step 400, a sender of a command(e.g., the IMD 110) may generate a command packet. The command packetmay include, for example, a sequence number with which the commandpacket is associated. In step 410, the sender of the command may thenstore the generated command. In step 420, the sequence space counter ofthe sender may then be incremented. In one embodiment, the step 420 mayproceed step 400 and step 410. In another embodiment, the command issent from the IMD 110 to the NIC 120. The NIC 120 may respond to thecommand with a response. In step 422, the NIC 120 may receive a packetfrom the IMD 110. In query 424, a BRCM number may be detected in aparticular field (e.g., an identifier-type field). If the BRCM is notdetected, then, in step 426, the packet may be processed as a managementprotocol frame for the management console 300. If the BRCM is detected,then query 430 follows. In query 430, if sender of command receives aresponse, then, in step 450, the command corresponding to the receivedresponse may be deleted from storage. In one embodiment, the receivedresponse may include, for example, a particular sequence numberassociated with a particular command, thereby identifying the storedcommand which can be deleted.

If a response to a particular command is not received, then, in step440, the particular command, which has been stored, may beretransmitted. In one embodiment, the command sender may be able toretransmit any command until a response with the same sequence number isreceived and is processed. Accordingly, a retransmission capability isprovided in the case a command packet is lost, corrupted or dropped. Inanother embodiment, if the sender of commands detects a particularsequence number of a response that has already been received, then thesender of commands may resend all the commands that have not hadresponses received that follow the latest received sequence number. Inyet another embodiment, via a periodic timer, a requestor may verifycommands to which have been responded. If a command has not beenresponded to with a response, then a retransmit of the command may becommenced. The requestor may time-out on any request without a responseand may start retransmission after that timer has expired. This may bedone, for example, by setting the timeout each time a command istransmitted and each time a response is received. When the timerexpires, retransmit may be started if all the outstanding commands havenot been responded to with corresponding responses.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of a process forhandling response packets according to the present invention asexecuted, for example, by the NIC 120. In step 460, a packet may bereceived. In one embodiment, a command packet may be received by aresponder to commands (e.g., the NIC 120) from the sender of commands(e.g., the IMD 110). In query 462, a BRCM number may be detected in aparticular field (e.g., an identifier-type field). If the BRCM number isnot detected, then, in step 464, the packet may be forwarded to a maintransmission port. If the BRCM number is detected, then, in step 470,the sequence number carried by the command packet may be determined. Forexample, the NIC processor 160 may parse the command packet to determinethe sequence number carried by the command packet. In query 480, it maybe determined whether the determined sequence number is the expectedsequence number. If the determined sequence number is the expectedsequence number, then, in step 490, the command may be executed and aresponse packet may be generated that may include, for example, theexpected sequence number. In one embodiment, the NIC processor 160 mayconfigure (e.g., program), for example, one or more filters in the setof filters 170 in light of the received command packet. In step 500, thegenerated response packet may be stored and returned to the sender ofthe command packet. In one embodiment, the responder to commands maystore only the last response packet sent to the sender of commands.Thus, the latest response packet may be written over the previousresponse packet or the previous response packet may be deleted orinvalidated. In another embodiment, the responder to commands may storeone or more response packets sent to the sender of commands.

If the determined sequence number is not the expected sequence number(query 480), then, in step 510, the stored response packet (e.g., thepreviously stored response packet) may be resent. In one embodiment, ifthe responder receives a command with a sequence number other than theone expected (e.g., the last one plus one), then the NIC 120 may notexecute that command, but instead may send the response for thepreviously executed command. In another embodiment, the responder tocommands may re-execute a command without any adverse effects (e.g.,side effects).

In one embodiment, no more than approximately 2¹⁵-1 commands may beoutstanding at any time, for example, due to protocol limitations.Memory limitations in the sender may become evident long before theprotocol limit is reached. The responder may only keep the last responsethat was sent so that it might not have any retransmit memorylimitations for outstanding packets. However, other limitations maybecome factors for consideration.

Since the requestor may be the only station saving the outstandingcommands, the responder may be able to execute all commands more thanonce without any adverse effects. Accordingly, the retransmission of acommand that exhibits modal effects may cause problems. These modaleffects can be avoided by the design of the command packets such thatrepeated execution has no side effects.

The following are some examples of commands and responses according toan embodiment of the present invention.

Hello—0x0001. The Hello command may solicit a presence response from theNIC 120. The NIC 120 may respond as long as the message is receivedwithout error. The command does not make a commitment to work further.The Hello command may be intended for use as a flush command, if needed,possibly during initial negotiation. Error Codes may include, forexample, OK.

ID Request—0x0002. The ID Request command may indicate the IMD type andversion as a string up to, for example, forty characters long. Theresponse to the ID Request command may return the NIC type and versionas a string up to, for example, forty characters long. Error Codes mayinclude, for example, OK; UNAVAIL; BAD_ID; or FATAL

Reset To Default—0x0003. The Reset To Default command may request thatdefaults be set for settings relating to, for example, filters, flowcontrols, etc. This may be an equivalent state to a reset NIC. ErrorCodes may include, for example, OK or FATAL.

Set NIC

IMD Flow Control Method—0x0101. The Set NIC

IMD Flow Control Method command may set, for example, the flow controlmethod used between, for example, the IMD 110 and the NIC 120. In someembodiments, only symmetrical flow control may be supported in whichboth ends use the same method. An OK response may indicate that the NIC120 has set itself to the same flow control method. Settings mayinclude, for example, NONE or PAUSE. Error Codes may include, forexample, OK; NOT_SUPPORTED; or FATAL.

Set NIC Drop Policy—0x0102. The Set NIC Drop Policy command may set thedrop policy used by the NIC 120 when passing frames to the IMD 110.Settings may include, for example, DROP or BACKPRESSURE. Responses mayinclude, for example, DROP or BACKPRESSURE—setting now in; orDRIVER_CTL—bit set when driver is running and BACKPRESSURE mode couldnot be selected. Error Codes may include, for example, OK or FATAL.

Set NIC Port—0x0103. The Set NIC Port command may request, for example,that the NIC 120 set the main port to a particular speed. If the mainport speed is already at the specified speed, then no action may betaken and the link might not be dropped. The speed may be limited, forexample, by power management limitations. Setting the requested speedmay jeopardize exceeding the power supply for a particular design. Thismay not be returned on a card or LAN-on-motherboard (LOM) that mayprovide enough power in all modes. The speed change may be denied due tothe OS driver being loaded. The speed change may be denied because of,for example, interface limits such as Fiber or because an external“in-line” device connected that may not be controlled for some reason.Settings may include, for example, GET, 10, 100, 1000—GET requests thatcurrent state be returned with no effect; HD_FLAG—half duplex flag,invalid with 1000 setting; PAUSE—Pause Flow Control Enable Flag; orAUTO—flag indicating that a setting is a “maximum setting” to advertisefor auto-negotiation, when set, the link may be dropped as the link isre-negotiated. Responses may include, for example, 10, 100, 1000—speedof link; HD_FLAG—set if link is half duplex; PAUSE—set if pause flowcontrol is enabled; LINK_UP—flag set if link was attained in new mode;FIBER—flag set if fiber connection; PWR_LIMIT—flag set if requestedspeed was denied due to particular card power limitations;DRV_LIMIT—flag set if request speed was denied due to driver beingloaded and forcing link type; INTF_LIMIT—flag is set if requested speedwas denied due to limitations in the PHY device (e.g., Fiber that cannotsupport 10/100); AUTO_NEG—flag is set if link was attained usingauto-negotiation; AUTO_NEG_PAR—flag is set if link was attained usingauto-negotiation and parallel detection was used to detect link(AUTO_NEG may also be set if this flag is set); CAP10, CAP100,CAP1000—capability advertised by link partner (valid only if AUTO_NEG=1&& AUTO_NEG_PAR==0); CAP_HD_FLAG—capability advertised by link partner(valid only if AUTO_NEG=1 && AUTO_NEG_PAR==0); or CAP_PAUSE—capabilityadvertised by link partner (valid only if AUTO_NEG=1 &&AUTO_NEG_PAR==0). Error Codes may include, for example, OK or FATAL.

Drop NIC Port Link—0x0104. The Drop NIC Port Link command may drop alink on the main port if it has not already been dropped. The link maybe re-established, for example, by the Set NIC Port command. Error Codesmay include, for example, OK or FATAL.

Filter All Packets—0x0201.

Byte 31 23 15 7 16 0x5706 Cmd. Seq. Num. 20 0x0201 4 24 0xFDFEFFFB 28-630

The Filter All Packets command may provide that packets received on themain port may be filtered and may not be delivered to the IMD 110. Thecommand may be used, for example, as a power-up setting and may be usedwith any filters (e.g., time filters) when reset or re-loaded.

Filter All Packets Response—0x8201.

Byte 31 23 15 7 16 0x5706 Res. Seq. Num. 20 0x8201 4 24 0x7DFEFFFB 28-630

Filter based on settings—0x0202. Packets may be filtered according toparticular filter settings (e.g., current filter settings).

Set Perfect Match Filter—0x0203. It may set the filters defined by Fnumto the value specified in DA. Legal values for Fnum are 0 and 1. If the“OFF” bit is set, then the specified perfect match may be disabled.

Byte 31 23 15 7 16 0x5706 Cmd. Seq. Num. 20 0x0203 8 24 DA 28 DA OFFFNum 28 Checksum 32-63 0

Set Perfect Match Filter Response—0x8204.

Set Broadcast Filter—0x0205. The Set Broadcast Filter command may be setif broadcast frames should be forwarded to the IMD 110. Settings mayinclude, for example, ON. Error Code may include, for example, OK orFATAL.

Set ARP Filter—0x0206. The Set ARP Filter command may be set if ARPframes should be forwarded to the IMD 110. Settings may include, forexample, ON. Error Code may include, for example, OK or FATAL.

Get Statistics—0x0301. The Get Statistics command may request a responsewith the requested statistics in it. Results may include, for example:

u64_t IfHCInOctets;  /* Collected from emac_rx_stat_ifhcinoctets. */  /*This is the number of octets received on the interface, includingframing   characters. */ u64_t IfHCOutOctets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_ifhcoutoctets. */  /* This is the number of octets thathave been transmitted on the interface. */ u64_t IfHCInUcastPkts;  /*Collected from emac_rx_stat_ifhcinucastpkts. */  /* This is the numberof frames received on the wire that were not dropped due   to errorsthat have Unicast Ethernet destination addresses. */ u64_tIfHCInMulticastPkts;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_ifhcinmulticastpkts. */  /* This is the number of framesreceived on the wire that were not dropped due to   errors that havemulticast Ethernet destination addresses. */ u64_t IfHCInBroadcastPkts; /* Collected from emac_rx_stat_ifhcinbroadcastpkts. */  /* This is thenumber of frames received on the wire that were not dropped due to  errors that have the broadcast Ethernet destination addresses. */u64_t IfHCOutUcastPkts;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_ifhcoutucastpkts. */  /* This is the number of packetstransmitted that have unicast destination addresses. */ u64_tIfHCOutMulticastPkts;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_ifhcoutmulticastpkts. */  /* This is the number of packetstransmitted that have multicast destination addresses. */ u64_tIfHCOutBroadcastPkts;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_ifhcoutbroadcastpkts. */  /* This is the number of packetstransmitted that have the broadcast destination   address. */ u32_tDot3StatsCarrierSenseErrors;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_dot3statscarriersenseerrors. */  /* This is the number oftimes a false carrier has been detected on the internal   PHY device.This is indicated from the PHY by asserting RXER while   RXDV is lowwhen the RXD pins are at a state of 0x0e. */ u32_t Dot3StatsFCSErrors; /* Collected from emac_rx_stat_dot3statsfcserrors. */  /* A IfInErrorsvalue is the sum of this value and <b>Dot3StatsFCSErrors</b> and  <b>Dot3StatsAlignmentErrors</b>. */ u32_t Dot3StatsAlignmentErrors; /* Collected from emac_rx_stat_dot3statsalignmenterrors. */  /* This isthe number of frames received on the wire that have an odd number of  nibbles and fail FCS check and are of legal length. */ u32_tDot3StatsSingleCollisionFrames;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_dot3statssinglecollisionframes. */  /* This is the numberof collisions that were followed by successful packet   transmits. Thisis the same as the number of packets that were transmitted   with onlyone collision. */ u32_t Dot3StatsMultipleCollisionFrames;  /* Collectedfrom emac_tx_stat_dot3statsmultiplecollisionframes. */  /* This is thenumber of packets that have transmitted with more that one collision. */u32_t Dot3StatsDeferredTransmissions;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_dot3statsdeferredtransmissionsl. */  /* This is the numberof packets that were delayed in transmission because they   had to waitfor a RX packet to complete. */ u32_t Dot3StatsExcessiveCollisions;  /*Collected from emac_tx_stat_dot3statsexcessivecollisions. */  /* This isthe number of packets that have been dropped due to having 16 collisions  in a row. */ u32_t Dot3StatsLateCollisions;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat dot3statslatecollisions. */  /* This is the number ofpackets that have been dropped due to having a   collision receivedafter the 64-byte collision window. */ u32_t EtherStatsCollisions;  /*Collected from emac_tx_stat_etherstatscollisions. */  /* This is thenumber of collisions that have been detected on the interface. */ u32_tEtherStatsFragments;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatsfragments. */  /* This is the count of framesless than 64 bytes with bad FCS. */ u32_t EtherStatsJabbers;  /*Collected from emac_rx_stat_etherstatsjabbers. */  /* This is the numberof frames received that exceed the programmed MTU   size and have badFCS. */ u32_t EtherStatsUndersizePkts;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatsundersizepkts. */  /* This is the number offrames received that are less than 64 bytes in length. */ u32_tEtherStatsOverrsizePkts;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_dot3statsframestoolong. */  /* This is the number of framesreceived that exceed the programmed MTU size. */ u32_tEtherStatsPktsRx64Octets;  /* Collected form emacrx_stat_etherstatspkts64octets. */  /* This is the number of good framesreceived of 64 bytes in size. */ u32_tEtherStatsPktsRx65Octetsto127Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts65octetsto127octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 65 bytes to 127 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsRx128Octetsto255Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts128octetsto255octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 128 bytes to 255 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsRx256Octetsto511Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts256octetsto511octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 256 bytes to 511 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsRx512Octetsto1023Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts512octetsto1023octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 512 bytes to 1023 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsRx1024Octetsto1522Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts1024octetsto1522octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 1024 bytes to 1522 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsRx1523Octetsto9022Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_etherstatspkts1523octetsto9022octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames received of 1523 bytes to 9022 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx64Octets;  /* Collected formemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts64octets. */  /* This is the number of goodframes transmitted of 64 bytes in size. */ u32_tEtherStatsPktsTx65Octetsto127Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts65octetsto127octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 65 bytes to 127 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx128Octetsto255Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts128octetsto255octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 128 bytes to 255 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx256Octetsto511Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts256octetsto511octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 256 bytes to 511 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx512Octetsto1023Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts512octetsto1023octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 512 bytes to 1023 bytes in size. */u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx1024Octetsto1522Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts1024octetsto1522octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 1024 bytes to 1522 bytes in size.*/ u32_t EtherStatsPktsTx1523Octetsto9022Octets;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_etherstatspkts1523octetsto9022octets. */  /* This is thenumber of good frames transmitted of 1523 bytes to 9022 bytes in size.*/ u32_t XonPauseFramesReceived;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_xonpauseframesreceived. */  /* This is the number of goodMAC control frames received of pause type with   a back-off value ofzero. This register increments regardless of flow control state. */u32_t XoffPauseFramesReceived;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_xoffpauseframesreceived. */  /* This is the number of goodMAC control frames received of pause type with a   back-off value otherthan zero. This register increments regardless of   flow control state.*/ u32_t OutXonSent;  /* Collected from emac_tx_stat_outxonsent. */  /*This is the number of MAC Control pause packets of value 0xffff that  have be transmitted. */ u32_t OutXoffSent;  /* Collected fromemac_tx_stat_outxoffsent. */  /* This is the number of MAC Control pausepackets of value 0 that have   be transmitted. */ u32_tMacControlFramesReceived;  /* Collected fromemac_rx_stat_maccontrolframesreceived. */  /* This is the number of goodMAC control frames received that are not   of pause type. */Error Codes may include, for example, OK or FATAL.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiments disclosed, but that the present inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A communications system, comprising: a first host network interfacecard (NIC) coupled to a network; a second host NIC coupled to thenetwork; and a manager coupled to the first NIC and the second NIC, themanager initially being in two-way communications with the network viathe first NIC, wherein, if the first NIC fails, then the managerswitches from the first NIC to the second NIC and is in two-waycommunications with the network via the second NIC, wherein, if thefirst NIC operates normally, network traffic does not pass through thefirst NIC to the manager unless the network traffic is managementtraffic, and wherein, if the first NIC fails, the network traffic doesnot pass through the second NIC to the manager unless the networktraffic is management traffic.
 2. The system according to claim 1,wherein the communications system provides an integrated managementsolution.
 3. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first NICinitially provides a sole connection to the network for the manager. 4.The system according to claim 1, wherein the first NIC comprises astandard NIC.
 5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first NICcomprises a universal management port (UMP).
 6. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the first NIC comprises an Ethernet connection port. 7.The system according to claim 1, wherein the first NIC comprises one ormore filters and a NIC processor.
 8. The system according to claim 7,wherein the NIC processor is coupled to a NIC MAC and is coupled to theone or more filters, wherein the one or more filters are coupled to theNIC MAC, and wherein the NIC MAC is coupled to a network.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 7, wherein the NIC processor is coupled to a MAC, andwherein the MAC is coupled to the manager.
 10. The system according toclaim 9, wherein the manager configures the one or more filters.
 11. Thesystem according to claim 9, wherein the manager sends one or morecommands to the NIC processor, and wherein the NIC processor configuresthe one or more filters based upon the one or more commands.
 12. Thesystem according to claim 11, wherein the NIC processor responds to acommand with a corresponding response to the manager.
 13. The systemaccording to claim 12, wherein the first NIC stores only a latestresponse to a received and expected command.
 14. The system according toclaim 12, wherein the command and the corresponding response eachcomprise an identical sequence number.
 15. The system according to claim12, wherein the manager stores a particular command until acorresponding response has been received.
 16. The system according toclaim 7, wherein the manager comprises an intelligent management device.17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manager comprises amanagement processor and a MAC, the management processor being coupledto the MAC, the MAC being coupled to the first NIC.
 18. The systemaccording to claim 16, wherein the MAC of the manager is coupled to aMAC of the first NIC.
 19. The system according to claim 1, whereinmanagement traffic, commands and responses are passed between the firstNIC and the manager.
 20. The system according to claim 1, comprising: aplurality of additional host NICs, each additional host NIC beingcoupled to the manager, wherein if the first NIC and the second NICfail, then the manager selects a host NIC from the plurality ofadditional host NICs to exclusively provide access to and from thenetwork for the manager.
 21. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe first NIC and the manager are part of a server system, wherein theserver system comprises a host, system controls and system sensors,wherein the first NIC and the manager are coupled to the host, andwherein the manager is coupled to the system controls and the systemsensors.
 22. The system according to claim 1, wherein the manager isinitially in two-way communications with the network exclusively throughthe first NIC.
 23. The system according to claim 1, wherein, if thefirst NIC fails, then the manager switches from the first NIC to thesecond NIC and is in two-way communications with the network exclusivelythrough the second NIC.
 24. The system according to claim 1, wherein thefirst NIC, the second NIC and the manager are part of a server systemthat is coupled to the network.
 25. The system according to claim 1,wherein the first NIC comprises a first filter, wherein the second NICcomprises a second filter, and wherein the first filter and the secondfilter are configurable by the manager.
 26. The system according toclaim 1, comprising: system controls coupled to the manager; and systemsensors coupled to the manager.
 27. The system according to claim 26,wherein the manager monitors the system sensors and reports systemalerts over the network.
 28. The system according to claim 26, whereinthe manager sets system controls in response to commands received overthe network.
 29. The system according to claim 1, comprising: amanagement console coupled to the network, wherein the managementconsole receives user input and sends the user input to the manager overthe network, wherein the manager responds to the user input with aresponse and sends the response to the management console over thenetwork, and wherein the response is seamlessly output at the managementconsole.
 30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the managementconsole seamlessly provides remote management of the manager.
 31. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the first NIC, the second NIC andthe manager are part of a server system, wherein the server systemcomprises a host, and wherein the first NIC, the second NIC and themanager are each coupled to the host via a system interconnect.
 32. Thesystem according to claim 31, wherein the server system comprises aperipheral device that is coupled to the system interconnect.
 33. Thesystem according to claim 31, wherein the server system comprises one ormore central processors and a memory, the one or more central processorsand the memory are each coupled to the system interconnect.
 34. Thesystem according to claim 31, wherein the first NIC is coupled to thenetwork via a first switch, and wherein the second NIC is coupled to thenetwork via a second switch.
 35. The system according to claim 1,wherein the manager comprises an intelligent management device.
 36. Amethod of remote management over a network, comprising: accessing thenetwork via a plurality of host network interface cards (NICs) of alocal server system; communicating between a local manager of the localserver system and a remote manager over the network through a host NICselected by the local manager, the selected host NIC being one of theplurality of host NICs, the local manager not having a dedicatedmanagement NIC coupled to the network, any of the plurality of host NICsbeing selectable by the local manager; managing the local server systemvia the local manager; and responding locally to management commandssent over the network from the remote manager.
 37. The method accordingto claim 36, comprising: sending a response from the local manager tothe remote manager.
 38. The method according to claim 37, wherein thesent response comprises graphical information.
 39. The method accordingto claim 36, wherein the selected NIC provides exclusive access to andfrom the network for the local manager.
 40. The method according toclaim 36, wherein the local manager comprises an intelligent managementdevice.
 41. The method according to claim 36, comprising: selectinganother host NIC of the plurality of host NICs to provide exclusiveaccess to and from the network for the local manager.